Staten Island
	Fossella Aims To Distance Himself From Republican Party
October 25, 2006 House Republicans are running scared, fearing they'll lose control of Congress after Election Day. The fear has caused some members of the GOP to distance themselves from the party, including Staten Island Congressman Vito Fossella. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report. With only weeks to go before Election Day, incumbent Congressman Vito Fossella is taking a new tack in his re-election bid, touting himself as an Independent for Staten Island. The long-time Republican says that stance is not an attempt to distance himself from the embattled Republican Party. “I think I can break ways when some of the policies at the national level are not in the interest of my communities, so I'll continue to do that,” said Fossella. Policies, Fossella says, like funding for Homeland Security, which he argues shortchange New York. He says the recent scandal involving former Congressman Mark Foley's inappropriate communication with male pages has nothing to do with his move to campaign as an independent. But he says an investigation into the matter should hold anyone involved accountable, even if that includes House Speaker Dennis Hastert. “Frankly, I think anybody who knew about it, when that investigation is complete, should be held accountable and I don’t think that process is complete,” said Fossella. “When it is complete, we'll find out who knew what and when.” On the war in Iraq, Fossella remains loyal to the Bush administration, arguing it's not time to remove the troops from Iraq. Fossella's Democratic rival, Steve Harrison, says for that reason and others he doesn't buy Fossella's attempt to position himself as an independent. “Vito Fossella is someone that has been repeatedly voting with the president 89 percent of the time and what we're hearing from everybody out there is that they want to get us out of the war in Iraq and so they're looking to the Democrats and to Steve Harrison to take care of that,” Harrison said on MSNBC Tuesday. Some political analysts predict, though, that Fossella's campaign will prove effective and that he will win his re-election bid, but not by as big a margin as once expected. – Amanda Farinacci